Many websites provide continual updates in a “news feed” format, in which the latest or most interesting information appears at the top. Such sites build a community by adding social features such as “likes” or “comments.”
In many instances, the flow of items in a news feed increases to the point where there is too much information, and users are overwhelmed. Structure may be added from this point, usually in the form of tags or hierarchical posting groups. This leads to another type of website, comprising an “interest network,” where users can follow more narrow topics of personal interest, usually curated by sets of other interested and motivated users.
Interest networks that are newly created seek to emulate larger, more established sites, by trying to create and maintain their own community of users. To do this, interest networks are challenged with providing enough content to keep users engaged; as more networks and topic are created, the challenge intensifies as domains of interest become increasingly narrow, and as many other sites arise that are also competing for users. For example, a user may have a strong interest in some aspect of mobile technology, but his or her attention cannot be maintained on a given site if there is no community around that interest to generate enough compelling content. The problem is thus not having too much content, but rather not enough content to keep users interested enough to grow more interest and increase the community.